Field Report

On

Tourism Impact in Kullu Manali

Of

Department of Life Long Learning

(Rural Development)

Submitted by – Pushpal Bhandari Submitted to- Dr. Yashwant S. Harta

Roll no. -16
Date-
Introduction
 Man is fully dependent on nature and there is no doubt that nature has
provided all the resources for human being as well as other organisms
living on earth. Man excavated earth surface, cut downs the trees,
polluted environment and modifying the environment according to his
needs.
 Frontiers In Science and Technology 18 Tourism industry which is an
emerging industry has increased economy of nations. But if tourism
industry is a boon for man, it is also a bane for nature.
 In present study area, tourism has severe impact on physical as well as
social environment.
 Most of the impacts are seen in peak seasons of tourism i.e., May and
June. Influx of tourists is more in these months.
 In the study area these negative impacts are observed, air quality has
been decreased due to traffic.
 There is no segregation of solid waste, river and khuds are polluted with
solid waste at dumping site as well as in domestic settlements which
caused water contamination, improper management of sewage treatment
plant due to less carrying capacity than influx.
 Tourism is rapidly growing industry in Himachal Pradesh and its impact
is extremely varied.
 On one hand, it is playing an important and certainly positive role in the
socio economic and political development in state and on the other hand
offering new employment opportunities.
 In brief tourism provides opportunity to escape people from their normal
humdrum lives.
 Tourism industry occupies an important place in the economy of
Himachal Pradesh.
 Tourism includes the development of various public utility services like
roads, transport services airports, communication network and civil
amenities etc. in much better way.
 Kullu and Manali is one of the beautiful and important tourist
destinations from tourism point of view.
 The main objective of the study is to know about the facility provided to
the tourist and conduct an SWOC analysis to know about the tourism
potential in Himachal Pradesh.
  Kullu and Manali have all facilities for the tourist but there are some
problems during tourist’s peak season.
 Keeping in the view the factor discussed above, the study of growth and
development of tourism is essential.

Methodology
 The present study has included both qualitative and quantitative research
tools for gathering and analyzing the information.
 Data has been collected from both primary and secondary sources.

Study Area
 Present study was taken in Manali town of Kullu district, which is
situated at40 kilometres from Kullu, the district headquarters in the
northern part of the valley, under the Pir Panjal mountain range. The
town is located between latitude 32º24’32 N to longitude 77º18’92 E at
altitude ranging about1958 meters above mean sea level. The details of
the study area are:
 Topography: Moderate Slope.
 Geographical area: 327815-08 dm2.
 Soil type: Alluvial and non-calcic soil types.
CONCEPT OF TOURISM:
 Tourism is an activity involving mixture of material and physiological
factors. These include the availability of accommodation, transportation,
tourist attractions and entertainments. The psychological factors takes
into account a wide spectrum of attitudes and expectations varying from
pure escapism to fulfill of a dream or fantasy , or rest, entertainment,
educational and other interests.
 All are usually assessed and evaluates by the tourists. Since the
beginning of human history, the urge to move about has been an
important human activity. From the earliest historical times, man has
cherished the desire to discover the unknown, to explore new and staring
places, to seek changes of environment and to undergo new experiences.
 Thus was a time when man and woman along with their families or tribes
roamed about in search and food and shelter in this process, discovered
new area to settle down.
 The search for food and shelter led to new conquests and adventures. The
mythologies, espies and histories of various nations contain description
of such adventures.
 The process of searching has continued through the ages corresponding
with different states in the development of technology and the changes in
the modes are style of travelling and the facilities available. meanwhile,
new world have been discovered, new areas have been brought under
human occupation, new nations have emerged and there have been
revolutionary changes in technology as well as human expectations but
the urge of travel has remained unchanged. Over the centuries, the
passion for the travelling has become stronger and more popular among
the average citizens.
 New motives have been added to the reasons for people understanding
long or short journeys like the curiosity or the urge to the different
people and just to have some adventure, a change from the normal way
of life, some relaxation and fun.
 The word “tourism” is related to “tour” which is derived from Latin
word “tornos” means a tool for describing a circle or turners wheel. This
is a word of compass or rather a pin at the end of string.

TOURISM:
“Tourism denotes the temporary, short-term movement of people to destinations
outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during
the stay at these destinations. Much of the movement is international in
character and much of it is a leisure activity”.

TOURISM IN HIMACHAL:
 Nestled in Himalayas, the world’s mightiest mountain range, Himachal
Pradesh is blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful
landscapes, anywhere it is a traveller’s paradise, mighty snow peaks, deep
gorges, fast flowing rivers, enchanting lakes and flower filled meadows,
its high mountain and valleys are linked by winding roads and high
passes makes it paradise.
 Himachal Pradesh rises from the Shivalik Range to the mighty pir-panjal,
choor chandhi and kinner Kailas.
 Himachal Pradesh is situated in the laps of Himalayas. In the north, it has
Jammu and Kashmir and Uttaranchal in the south east. In the south it is
downed by Haryana and in the west, it has Punjab. The state consists of
12 districts and having population about 65 lakhs. The total area of the
state is 55673 sq. kms.
 Tourism industry occupies an important place in the economy of
Himachal Pradesh. Tourism industry is emerging as one of the major
earning sectors of this state economy. The government of HP has given
 the main priority to tourism industry because there are not proper
variables for other production industries.
 Tourism includes the development of various public utility services like
roads, transport services airports, communication network and civil
amenities etc.
 The state government having already banned setting up of polluting
industries, along national highways and roads of tourist importance, the
department is likely to select such industrial project which are eco-
friendly.
 The tribal tourism is likely to be on promotion of Buddhist tourism as
several world known monasteries like the Buddhist monastery is located
in the tribal belt.
 The archaeological survey of India is among the chief agencies associated
with tourism and playing a very crucial and important role in preservation
of India’s rich and varied past and maintenance of old monuments as well
as their exposure to the motivating force of tourism.
 Tourism industry in Himachal has wide scope of flourish and provides a
new direction to the economy of the state.
 Tourism is only next to hydroelectric power potential in the state with
positive scope in maintaining its unpolluted atmosphere.
 Himachal offers a combination of natural bounty especially in the 30 wild
life sanctuaries, 2 national parks, 4 natural parks and 3 game reserves.
Himachal Pradesh cultural heritage is its most enduring legacy and this is
evident in the charmer the destination exercises on those who discover
her enhancement.
 Himachal Pradesh is a land of ancient mores of rich tradition of cultural
heritage that is today its chief tourist’s attractions.
 Here amid the splendor of her landscape, is exotic destination where the
past is only just round the corner, perfectly preserved in beautiful,
monuments places forts temples.

TOURISM IN KULLU DISTRICT:

  Kullu valley spreads out its charm on either side of river Beas. The valley
runs north to south of this river and is 80kms. Long and about 2kms at its
broadest.
 The valley is also famous for its exquisitely woven colorful handmade
shawls and Kullu caps. Kullu was made into a separate district in the year
1963. The district has 3 tehsils namely, Kullu, Banjar and Nermand and 2
sub-tehsils Ani and Sainj.
 The district has a total of 172 villages all of which are inhabited. There
are four towns in the district namely, Banjar, Bhuntar, Kullu and Manali.
The district has a density of population of 55 persons per sq km as
against 93 persons in the state.
 The main population consists of Hindu followed by Buddhist and
fractions of Sikh and Christian religions.
 The predominant class consists of Rajputs, Brahmins, and then
scheduled castes.

PLACES TO VISIT IN KULLU-MANALI:

 Bijli Mahadev Shrine, Raghunathji Temple, Vaishno Devi Temple,
Camping Sight: Katrain, Naggar, Kasol, Manikaran, Malana, Bajaura,
Larji ,Banjar, Manali, Nehru Kund,Solang Valley, Kothi, Rahala Water
Falls, Rohtang Pass, Arjun Gufa (Cave) ,Jagatsukh.

SOME OF THE LESSER-KNOWN PLACES IN

KULLU- MANALI:
 INNER AND OUTER SERAJ: Accessible from Kullu and Shimla

by road. The Jalori and Basil passes stand as markers between the
Inner and Outer Seraj regions of Kullu.
 Outer Seraj faces Shimla district and reaches out to touch the river
Sutlej and Inner Seraj turns towards Kullu. Anni near Sutlej provides
the access point to Outer Seraj from Shimla.
 JALORI PASS (3134 m): The Jalori Pass which links Inner and
Outer SERAJ is 76 km from Kullu. Its crest offers views of the area.
The new pass is a man made one and was carved out of the mountain
range in the early part of the Twentieth century. This is about 150 m

lower than the old Jalori Pass. Surrounded by forests, this area is home
to the Himalayan brown bear and certain varieties of pheasant -
including the Mona and Tarpon. The Shangri Rich Temple is close-by,
and 5 km from the Pass is the jewel like Sloes Lake.
  SHOJA (2692 m): Shoja in Inner Seraj is close to the Jalori Pass.
An unspoilt location overlooking meadows and tall snow-capped
ranges, Shoji is 69 km from Kullu via Aut. The Raghupur Fort and

Dough Thatch, a grassy meadow very close to Shoja is worth visiting.

 AUT: Aut on the Mandi-Manali highway is the entry point to the
Kullu Valley where the road enters the Mandi - Largi gorge. Aut, the
entire reservoir of the Pandoh Dam and Largi are excellent for
angling. The rapids between Shamshi and Aut are splendid for river
running. There are rest houses at Aut and Largia

Climatic conditions
 Temperature typically ranges from -7 degree Celsius to 24 degree Celsius
for the entire year.
 The average temperature during the summers is between 18 degree
Celsius to 22 degree Celsius and during the winters is -2 degree Celsius
to 9 degree Celsius.
Occupational structure:
 10.6% agriculture and horticulture.
 29.39% government services.
 29.65% business.
 30.90% are labours and other.

Physical environment:
a) Solid waste generation: The door-to-door waste collection has been
initiated in all the wards; however, the percentage of hotels, shops and
houses population covered under the system varies from ward to ward.

 Average waste generation is about 14-15 MT/day.

 During the peak tourist season (mid-April to end-September) waste
generation increases about 35-36 MT/day. This depicts that the
waste generation per capita per day:
 From houses as 400 gm/capita/day
 ¾ From hotels as 1.20 kg/capita/day
 ¾ From shops it is 3 kg/shop/day.
 ¾ Biodegradable - 8.75MT, non-Biodegradable- 26.25MT
 ¾ MT solid waste is collected from the surrounding
panchayat (9 Nos) areas.

 Rohtang Pass: In offseason, the quantity of solid waste is

about 6 to 8 tons/day which increases up to 14-16 tons/day
during the peak tourist season.
 b) Air pollution: The data was obtained from HPPCB,
shows increasing and decreasing rate of different pollutants.
Since, June has more inflow of tourists and fruit season in

Manali starts; hence, the traffic of vehicles is more than the

other months. Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter
(RSPM) is the main reason for decreased air quality in the
town and RSPM rises mainly during the peak tourist season.

 Rohtang: Because of rough terrain, wind blow, moisture,

etc., it is very difficult to install air quality monitoring
systems in Rohtang area. Therefore, air monitoring of the
area monitoring is done for 5-6 months at Gulaba and for 4-
5 months at Marhi.

Black snow was observed near the NH in Rohtang Pass

because of the movement of large number of vehicles
causing pollution with.soot particles and CO gases. RSPM
also increased above the desirable limit 77.12μg/m3 (June,
2018-19) (Desirable limit is 60 μg/m3). It also fluctuates
between 40-80 μg/m3.
 c) Water pollution: According to the IPH department
laboratory test reports, the parameters of potable water
tested are always within acceptable limit.

But on the other hand, value of total coliform in Beas river

is more than desirable limit (500MPN/SCP/100ml) but less
than permissible limit (5000MPN/SCP/100ml). Sewage
treatment plant:
 Sewage production rises to 15-16 MLD during the peak

season while the capacity of STP of Manali is 1.82 MLD.

The situation becomes worse in tourism season due to extra
incoming sewage flow especially in the months of May,
June and July.
 d) Land degradation: With increased tourism activities,
hotels, cottages, resorts and restaurants have been
constructed for meeting the requirement of tourists.
 Due to land degradation, natural resources of water and
forest resources are in danger.

 Social environment: Manali is famous for rich culture,

traditions and scenic beauty. It was found that the
employment and jobs have increased in the area. The
negative activities have also been noticed which includes
drugs and body trade rackets. With the expansion of
tourism, following impacts have been noticed:

a) Positive Impacts
Employment Generation: Hotels, restaurants, home stays, taxi services,
travel agencies, tourist guide, photographer, sports and adventures
activities.
Developments: Manali has emerged as a city from a small village with
the growth of tourism and people of Manali are open-minded. Schools,

hospitals, administrative offices such as Executive Engineer HPSEB,

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Area Manager HPTDC, Range Officer
Forest department, etc. Road and transport facility also developed with
 the passage of time. But these roads are also overcrowded due to the
tourist’s vehicles.

b) Negative Impacts

 Drugs Trade: Drug business has grown simultaneously with

tourism activities. The government banned the cultivation of
cannabis and tobacco; however, this has not stopped yet. District
Administration Kullu has taken many steps and organized
awareness programs for stopping the drug supply.

 Cultural degradation: Half of the population has become victim

of change and people have forgotten their culture for money and
even changed the structure of houses which were previously, made
of mud-n-stone, wood-n-stone and wood.

 High Prices: Local people have to face price rise due to tourism
activity, especially during the peak season when more tourists visit
the town.

 Mitigation Measures For minimizing environmental impacts;

planning, regulation, incentives, physical hardening and education
must be united. Capacity of sewage treatment plant must be
increased and influx of tourists must be reduced as compare to
carrying capacity.

Case study
Tourism is one of significant industry in Himachal Pradesh. The State is blessed
with pleasant weather, attractive landscape, temples, historical monuments, fair
and festivals, snowcapped mountains and adventure activities like paragliding,
trekking, river rafting, kayaking and canoeing. Peacefulness of state is another

asset of state tourism. For a balanced development Himachal Pradesh Tourism

Development Corporation has divided the State in four circuits, out of which
Beas circuit becomes important because of tourist receipt and traffic.

The circuit includes Kullu, Manali, Rohtang, Naggar and Manikaran, Manali
being number one in tourism related activities has been taken as study area for
present paper. Survey literature indicates a few studies have been conducted to
investigate the tourism impact in area. Kapoor (1976) indicated that Himachal
Pradesh has distinct tourism product and presents a great potential of tourism
development. He analysed the relationship of State economic development and
tourism development and found tourism as tool for overall development. Singh,
Prit Paul (1978) in his study concluded that industry can help to generate
employment, income, Government revenue and other economic benefits for the
State. Jayal and Matawani (1986) in their book “Conservation Tourism and
Mountaineering in Himalayas” analysed the role of tourism in state revenue
generation.

The researchers also emphasized on opening of distant places of state but with
proper security arrangements. Bawa (1994) examined the negative impacts of
tourism in the region. The conclusions showed the pollution created by industry
in Manali and Bhuntar cities. Bansal and Gupta (1998) also warned that tourism
development without proper consecration planning can further pollute the
environment.

They also stressed on community awareness for the same.

Bhatacharya (1998) advocated that Governments of Hilly States should check
the degradation of natural resources by implementing the strict rule and
regulations for environment protection Chand and Vivek (2012) also studied the
perception of residents towards sustainable tourism development.

This study concluded that there is little involvement of residents of Manali in

promotion and development of sustainable tourism in area. Above mentioned
critical review of literature clearly indicates that there is dearth of study in field
of impacts investigation for Manali region. The present study aims at evaluation
of physical, socio-cultural and environment impacts of tourism in Manali.

Manali
 Tourism in Manali Situated at a height of 2050 mts.in Pir Panjal range of
Western Himalayas, Manali town lies on the right bank of river Beas. With
temperate climate and profound nature, the valley is known for its lush green
meadows, dense deodar forests, towering peaks, perennial glaciers, fresh
 water streams and salubrious climate, making it a perfect tourist destination.
Distanced 41kms from district headquarter of Kullu, Manali is a
administrative sub division created in year 1963 with one tehsil and a
development block and house 70 villages. The village became town in 1981
and elected Nagar Panchayat in 1997 with seven wards.

Important Indicators of Manali Indicators Manali

 Total population -51,661
 Rural Population- 84%
 Urban Population -16%
 Male Population -54%
 Female Population- 46%
 Density of town Population 2690/km sq Area of town 4 sq km
 Population of town- 8086
 Total households in MC Area -1832
( Source: Census of India,2011)

District Profile Bestowed with bountiful nature, unlike other tourist

desinations Manali grew as leisure tourism destination attracting tourists
from far and wide. The valley has three tourist seasonsMarch to June, the
peak season when place is thronged by Indian holiday makers largely
from plains of Panjab,Haryana,Delhi to escape scorching heat of plains
and to find solace in snow clad Rohtang; July to September when valley
is alive with the trekker enthusiasts coming from all over the world to
explore the unknown in various treks of Manali and December to
January, the time of snow and winter carnival when skiers make a beeline
for the slopes of Solang and heli skiing on the higher slopes of Manali.
Though whole valley is dotted with abundant nature and a tourist delight
but tourism is largely concentrated in two main destinations, the 3400
meters high Rohtang pass and Solang Valley, a must in every tourist’s
itinerary. Since all tourism activities are centered around these two
destinations, tourism is the backbone and only source of income for the
residents of nine villages surrounding these two areas who monopolize
tourism here, Burwa, Ghoshal, Shanag, Ruwar, Palchan, Kothi, Kulang,
 Majach and Solang.

 Effect of Tourism on Employment Tourism,

The fastest growing sector in the world is perceived as a game changer for poor
economies solely dependent on their natural resources for their development. Its
role highly acclaimed in employment generation accommodating teeming
skilled and unskilled manpower in its fold thus improving living of the millions.
Tourism opens up new range of employment opportunities for particular skills,
as well as for females, young people, casuals and the unskilled, besides
enhancement in wages and salaries of the employees (Pilgrim, 1980,
578).Tourism in developing countries often associated with upliftment of host
community from abject poverty by providing assured employment avenues
besides making them participatory to achieve tourism 24 goals. It is observed
from many studies that tourism help communities to have additional source of
income and improve their living maximizing benefits when strong linkages are
developed into the local economy and integrated development is planned with
the full participation of both industry and the local communities supported by
access to credit and with appropriate training” (Goodwin,1998). Tourism in
Manali has opened up many avenues for locals and provided solace to youth of
the valley to harness their childhood skills to earn income without being
displaced from their homes, a burning issue in hill economies where scarcity of
resources has led to mass migration of young male population to plains to earn a
living as observed in Uttrakhand, another hill destination. With tourism
becoming a major economic activity the migration has been arrested and youth
becoming entrepreneurial opening up new ventures to earn their livelihood, one
can see mushrooming up of new activities like plying all-terrain vehicles
(ATVs), snow scooters, river crossing, paragliding, white water rafting besides
traditional activities of trekking, sking, guides, tour and taxi operators, potters
besides those involved in restaurants and hotel industry. Growing tourism has
revived woollen cottage industry in the region benefitting local women at large
engaged in making socks, caps and weaving bringing work to their doorstep and
supplementing income.
 With growing tourism there is manifold increase in the
number of employment opportunities and tourism activities. The period
registered a growth of 293% in number of Tourist guides since 2004, 108%
increase in number of outdoor photographers and 308% increase in number of
travel agents, indicating tourism boom in the valley providing opportunities to
locals to harness their skills and earn a decent living. 25 Besides providing
employment to locals, tourism is boon for large number of migrants to earn a
living during tourist season. It is estimated that around 5000 people in the valley
are directly dependent on tourism whereas 35000 indirectly making a living out
of this industry doing a business worth Rs.500-700crores annually. The town
witness a rush of seasonal migrants visiting Manali every year to earn extra
income during peak summer season and one can find Rajasthani vendors selling
herbs, Kashmiri’s selling handicraft, many foreigners opening up small eateries
to serve their authentic national cuisine, turning old Manali village into global
kitchen and floating population from surrounding districts of Mandi, Kangra
and Bilaspur to earn money to keep them going for a year. It is a saying in hills,
“work for three months in tourism and eat for nine months”. Not many people
especially women are engaged in part time jobs and multi - tasking to utilize
their idle labour besides bringing security and supplementing their household
income.

People of Manali are excellent entrepreneurs adopting new skills to diversify

tourist activities. The locals developed small and medium enterprises in Manali,
like renting of boots and ski material, serving fast food at Rohtang top, renting
out traditional kulluvi dress to substantiate their income without any support
from government while local elite and outsiders built hotels after availing
subsidy from government to strengthen infrastructure in the valley. Largely
dependent upon agriculture/horticulture locals looked to other petty works in
tourism and forayed into guide, potter,white water rafting, sking, paragliding
and other tourism activities.

Being demand driven the outdoor activities generated lot of jobs for local
youth and brought easy and good returns and were preferred by them over
working in hotels where skill and experience is pre requisite. In the absence of
any hospitality training institute locals being unskilled and unprepared for this
sector opted for adventure sports and local transportation network leaving these
jobs in hotel industry to youth from other districts of Himachal. During field
work this assumption was ascertained when a waiter was interviewed who
hailed from neighboring district of Mandi and was employed in that hotel for

last ten years, though the hotel was in name of a local but was leased out to an
outsider for a sum of Rs.5 lakh annually. And he conveyed those locals feel shy
to work even in their own hotels as its considered below their dignity to work in
hotels. Though locals are availing concessions and subsidies extended by
Government to construct hotels but they are not the direct service providers. 26
Moreover being used to easy work and quick returns, young population is
averse to traditional agriculture and horticulture practices and shortage of
manpower has led to in migration of Nepali labour to work in orchards and
fields, a growing concern among elder generation. Tourism is labor intensive
and rich paying industry that attracts more labor than the agricultural sector
creating more demand for them and causing in migration to support traditional
activities.
 Rural tourism In tourism
 it is the core area that draws maximum visitors leaving periphery neglected and
same was observed in Manali where town and few villages have become hub of
tourism forcing population from other villages to migrate in these centers to
substantiate their income. According to Pearce,et al in Moscarda,rural and
peripheral areas lack tourism experience and potential of impact of tourism on
the resources, needs government intervention(1996,11).Himachal government
to bring equity made headway in promoting and encouraging Rural tourism to
garner development in periphery by initiating Home stay scheme in this
policy.And Manali has the distinction of registering first homestay unit in the
state in 2008 since then number of units have grown from 300 units with 900
rooms in 2008 to 500 units with 1300 rooms in 2012,out of these 500 units more
than 130 are in Manali alone(o/o DTDO). The scheme was targeted for poor
households to enhance their income by becoming part of tourism industry
adding another source of income. The scheme registers a rural household with
minimum one room and a maximum of three rooms and is exempted from
paying VAT, Luxury Tax etc besides paying water and electricity consumption
charges are at domestic rates. These concessions have brought many rural
families in its fold and at present there around 215 home stay units in district
Kullu out of which more than 130 are in Manali. The scheme has been 27
instrumentals in generating employment opportunities for rural people who
were earlier dependent upon traditional means of livelihood. The policy
succeeded in generating employment for the locals by bringing equity in both
urban and rural areas as discussed above explaining growing absorption of
locals in ever expanding tourism industry in the valley by diversifying their
economy. But it has been observed that there is growing dependence on tourism
because of easy work, quick returns, less hard work, limited tourist season,
disorientation of youth for agriculture and horticulture (dependent on vagaries
of nature) and lack of skills, driving more and more people to join this industry
posing threat to very existence of tourism in valley. Though tourism has
benefitted locals at large but this unchecked growth has played havoc with local
environment polluting natural sources thus drawing intervention from National
Green Tribunal (NGT).

 Tourism and Participation

Tourism becomes more inclusive and sustainable when planning is
participatory involving all stakeholders benefitting locals at large since they
are the first to bear brunt of tourism that alters not their economy and social
life but also their immediate environment, they are dependent upon for
sustenance. Participation is “not only about achieving the more efficient and
more equitable distribution of material resources: it is also about the sharing
of knowledge and transformation of the process of learning itself in the
service of people’s self-development” (Okazaki, 511). The participatory
development approach would create better opportunities for local people to
gain larger and more balanced benefits from tourism development taking
place in their localities (Tosun,2006,493). Tourism to host population is
often a mixed blessing, on one hand it creates jobs and increases cash flow
on other, the tourists become a physical as well as social burden (Smith,
1997, 124).

The policy document of 2005 emphasized

participation of only NGOs and Civil society in its framework for promotion
and coordination of tourism related activities. Besides direct participation of
these bodies in policy fold there was inclusion of selective few from local
community to be part of Tourism Development Board at state level, chaired
by Chief Minister and Tourism Development Council, Manali, headed by
District Magistrate to voice concerns of locals of Manali. Generally, these
appointments are political in nature and few powerful from ruling party are
made members of these boards and councils who change with the change in
government after five years. This exclusiveness affirms argument proposed
by Liu while 29 emphasizing the needs and interests of the local
communities it should be realized that local communities are not some kind
of homogeneous mass but contain deep divisions of class, status and power
and in most cases their involvement is ‘relational’ rather than
‘participatory’(2003,466).

Both participation by
and empowerment of local people is clearly identified with Agenda 21 as an
important aims of sustainable development programs and is extended to
include empowerment through which individuals, households, local groups,
communities, regions and nations shape their own lives and kind of society
in which they live(Nelson and Weighted al,1995,in Earthscan,149).There is
much literature to affirm role of community participation in sustainability of
tourism but with the exclusion of community at large this selective
participation failed to do justice to tourism concerns of valley. Moreover,
during field work, I did not come across any association that was engaged by
the department of tourism for capacity building and tourism promotion in the
 valley. And there was no contribution from even those locals who were TDB
and TDC members to address discontent voices in Manali. And community
in Manali despite having no voice in policy process strengthened both
politically and socially to pursue their need-based goals and reap tourism
benefits and with their strong association they have shaped tourism in the
valley deriving little intervention from policy makers.

 Effect of Tourism on Environment

 Tourism and Environment
Tourism is the only source of sustenance for few countries that rely completely
on their scarce natural environment to reap benefits. During this process, many
a times economic stakes overpower environmental concerns leaving a polluted
environment and resource vandalisation.There are range of policies and
legislations to protect environment(including protected areas, land use planning
and obligatory (Environment Impact Assessment)but sometimes they are
inconsistently enforced(Bailey,et al,2010,111)either due to power of a particular
stakeholder who is steering policy or lack of political zeal to streamline the
system fearing backlash from power groups in the industry.

Policies designed in these fragile areas are often pro-tourism because of

economic compulsions leading to manipulation of conservation policies to
exploit nature for short term benefits without realizing its repercussions in the
long run. These destinations consider tourism a zero priced public good
susceptible to excess demand and over utilization and this over utilization
during peak season and ill planned tourism development bring tourism in direct
conflict with the environment. (Mathieson and Wall, 1982 in Coccus’s and
Nijkamp ed.1995, 4). Being dependent on environment, tourism has both
symbiotic and antagonistic relation with environment ,symbiosis lead to
preservation and conservation of the nature, promoting and improving
environmental ethics whereas whereas antagonism lead to degradation and
excess 30 demand on limited natural resources in a place having both visual
pollution and impact of excessive tourism on environment in that area.
(Inskeep,1991,343).(Inskeep in Coccossis,etc,1995,5) With industry involving
many stake holders it becomes difficult to priorities issues, as Cater argues, “the
relation- ship between tourism development, socio-economic development and
the environment is circular and cumulative and without adequate environmental
protection, prospects for development will be undermined.
 There is an essential need to build the positive
links between the environment and tourism and to break the negative links”
(Cater,1995,21). Madan and Rawat(2000) in their study on Mussoorie(a hill
station in state of Uttrakhand in India)reflects the plight of local population
when during peak tourist season(May -June), “the town of 25000 people
become home to more than 200,000 people, straining existing infrastructure of
the town and leading to plethora of problems, including illegal construction,
unplanned growth, excessive garbage, encroachment on the forest lands,
sanitation and sewage problems, water scarcity, overcrowded roads, resultant
traffic jams and vehicular pollution”(Madan and Rawat,2000,251).This scenario
is true for Manali also which gets choked with tourists during peak tourist
season. Like other hill stations Manali too bearing brunt of rapid mass tourism
affecting its resources is reflected in a study by Cole and Sinclair, “ecological
footprints in Manali in 1995 expanded to 25 times the area of Manali, and with
such a substantial increase is a sign that Manali is moving away from, rather
than toward, sustainability and this increase also highlights the magnitude of the
impact of tourism in Manali, affecting all the unique mountain attributes, the
Beas River, forestlands, productive soils, native vegetation, etc”(Cole and
Sinclair 2002,138). This growing trend has led to chaotic growth in the town
bringing environmental problems for the locals and area. Pandey et al (1998)
has gone so far as to suggest that the “quality and quantity of hotels and guest
houses have reduced [Manali] from a tourist destination to an urban slum
without adequate water or sewerage facilities.” (Pandey al,1998,140). The
unregulated development on the pretext of accommodating tourist inflow has
fractured fragile ecology of this town leaving it with disfigured skyline;
depleting green cover; multiplying concrete structures; garbage heaps;
congestion; water, noise and air pollution; reducing snow fall; inclement
weather; flash floods; besides visual pollution, all reflecting repercussions of
mass tourism that has riddled this valley for the last two decades.
 Pollution
Pollution in simplest term is the introduction of harmful materials,
called pollutants (both manmade and natural) into the environment
damaging the quality of air, water and
land(education.nationalgeographic.com). Unabated tourism over the
years has definitely made a difference in the environment of Kullu valley
especially in Manali where growing footfall, increasing number of
private and commercial vehicles and conversion of agricultural land into
31 commercial holdings has started reflecting in studies conducted by
 NEERI as well as Himalayan institute of Environment. Though the
damage is not severe but degradation has set in and if tourist influx and
their related activities not controlled the repercussions can be severe for
this valley.

 Air Pollution
Increasing tourism and heavy rush of vehicles especially during peak
tourist season has affected air quality of valley once known for
rejuvenation and green destination. With growing economy number of
both private and commercial (taxis) vehicles have increased in the
valley. The number of private vehicles has grown from 312 in 2005 to
4615 in 2013 recording a CAGR of 35% whereas number of taxis has
increased from165 in 2005 to 2725 in 2013, registering a CAGR of
10.46%, in total the local vehicles in Manali recorded a CAGR of
37%,speaking of its negative effect on valley’s air. The effect is more
apparent in Rohtang which witness daily ferrying of 10,000 to 15,000
tourists in 2500 to 3000 vehicles(both private and taxis) making beeline
on this 51 kms stretch to catch glimpse of snow. This unregulated traffic
flow leads to massive traffic jams and high emission by these stranded
vehicles. Besides these local vehicles, 5000-7000 outside vehicles enter
Manali daily during peak summer season choking town with regular
traffic jams and haphazard parking.

 Water Pollution
Himalayan belt was once known for its fresh water lakes, rolling rivulets
and threptic medicinal springs but onslaught of tourism has polluted
these sources once considered lifeline and Manali is no exception to this
fallout. There are two important issues pertaining to water pollution in
Himalayas, one drying up of water sources leading to shortage of
drinking water and second is contamination of water by unplanned
manner of garbage dumping (Kinniya, et al, 2004, 116). Once used
directly for potable water, river Beas, the lifeline of Kullu valley is
slowly turning into sewer in absence of proper sewage system and
effluents are released directly into the river without any treatment.
Moreover, the local nallahs (rivulets) are seen filled with plastic,
building waste, muck dumping and other waste turning them into dump
yards. So far so even the very source of River Beas, the Beas Kund
 situated at a height of 4085 meters above sea level in Pir Panjal range at
Rohtang has turned into a sewer littered with plastics wrappers, animal
filth and waste disposal from local Dhaba’s (small eateries) to cater
tourists. The situation in town needs immediate intervention to save Beas
turning into a sewer as the existing sewerage treatment plant in town was
designed and set up by IPH department with a capacity of 1.82 MLD for
1000 households has already crossed its capacity by giving more
connections,1072 out of 2102 households whereas remaining households
have their own septic tank/plant. Water samples collected from river
water, springs, ground water, water supply and nallah (rivulets) showed
no significant water pollution in terms of chemical constituents but
quality of water found deteriorated from upstream to downstream where
large population is concentrated (NEERI, 2012, 4.5). Though the
pollution is not alarming yet contamination has begun with the release of
untreated sewerage from mushrooming hotels and domestic waste asking
for mitigation measures.

 Municipal Solid Waste

With the changing lifestyle and increasing consumerism, the world is
riddled with continuous generation of solid waste and its disposal. The
situation is more critical in developing countries where high
concentration of tourist activities have collapsed the existing structure
and in absence of mitigation measures the tourist sites have turned into
garbage yards. In the absence of proper waste management mechanism
in hill stations, a common sight is slopes, valleys, rivulets strewn with
garbage. Since mountains are more fragile and susceptible to pollution
tourist generate a great deal of waste and on expeditions leave behind
their equipment thus degrading the environment, due to this some most
frequently visited trails in Peruvian Andes and Nepal have been
nicknamed “Coca-Cola trail” and “Toilet paper Trail” (www.gdrc.org)
With the manifold increase in tourists in last few years, Manali too
riddled with this menace during peak tourist season when there is rush of
tourists, generating a waste of 20 MT per day as compared to only 7 MT
in off tourist season. But with the intervention of NGT the waste is being
collected from Rohtang and its surrounding areas also, increasing waste
collection from 30MT/day in 2014 to 40 MT/day in 2015(MC, Manali).
 For waste disposal, Manali Municipal
Council has set up an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plant at
Kangri, 3.5 kms from main town, in 2003-2004 with the assistance from
NORAD with a daily capacity of 30 MT. But with the increase in waste
collection from 30MT in 2014 to 40 MT in 2015 the plant is near
exhaustion and requires immediate intervention from concerned
department for its expansion or development of an alternate site to treat
this increasing waste. Waste is collected from door to door and
outsourced to a private firm, though bins are provided to the residents yet
waste requires manual segregation at the plant.
The statistic reveal as much as 65% Manali waste is biodegradable that can be
recollected into compost if segregated at the source (GIZ,Waste Audit report,
Manali).At present Plastics, 9% Bio-degradable66% Paper, 11% Textile
/Cloth8%, Metal, 1% Glass, 4% E-waste, 1% Bio Degradable59% Plastic 17%
Paper 18% Glass 6% 37 bio degradable waste is put in pits for decomposition
and non-biodegradable is sold to rag pickers(kawari wallah) and reject waste is
land filled. The typical domestic waste generated is plastic packing, wrappers
besides paper and glass whereas commercial waste is largely recyclables, plastic
bottles, packing wrappers and other metal and all. The state adopted Green
policy in 2009 when Himachal became first state in India to ban on use of
Polythene carry bags and littering of non-biodegradable waste vide notification
no.STE-F-(4)-2/2008 dated 07.07.2009 and 13.08.2009 banning all plastics in
state since 15 August 2009 under HP Non-Biodegradable Garbage (control)Act
1995.The notification put ban on littering and anybody found flouting norms
were fined Rs 1000 to Rs.5000/(www.hp.nic in).The drive generated awareness
and regular inspections and challaning put stop to plastic usage in the state and
plastic was confiscated was used in road construction.

 Forest and Land Degradation

Spurt in tourism has affected forest cover in Manali which is challenged by
trampling of indigenous flora, less survival of new plantations and retreating
meadows due to increase in recreational vehicles and number of horses and
ponies besides meeting requirement of bourgeoning hotel industry. Every
year in the Indian Himalaya, more than 250,000 Hindu pilgrims, 25,000
trekkers, and 75 mountaineering expeditions climb to the sacred source of
the Ganges River, the Gangotri Glacier depleting local forests for firewood,
trample riparian vegetation, and strew litter and to make matter worse, this
tourism frequently induces poorly planned, land-intensive development.

The 2005 Tourism policy of Himachal Government was a breakthrough in

tourism industry in the state when it incorporated essential component of
sustainability in its goals, objectives and strategy to make state “A
Destination for All Seasons and All Reasons”. Many milestones were
achieved since the inception of this policy and tourism brought laurels and
popular awards for state. The chapter analyses this policy using theoretical &
conceptual tools of Tourism Governance, Stakeholder Analysis, and policy
evaluation.

conclusion
Kullu-Manali area was brought to a new and much higher level of tourism
development and activity primarily through misfortune in the neighboring
mountain area. Once achieved however, this level of activity has been
subject to variations caused by economic fluctuations, political conflict and
violence, and local conditions such as weather, snowcover and occurrence of
natural hazards. People in Manali are concerned about the continuity and
sustainability of tourism in the area. There is acute recognition of and
concern for the impacts of political unrest, conflict and terrorism, and the
degradation of the natural, cultural and infrastructural tourism resource base
in the area through overuse.
Many of these issues warrant further research. The events
of the past decade with their remarkable changes suggest that systematic data
collection and monitoring of tourist visitation, characteristics, and activities
would be useful. Detailed study of physical impacts on vegetation and soils
at heavily visited sites is warranted. The difficult task, particularly for
foreign researchers, of describing the local cultural and social impacts and
changes resulting from tourism and other economic development requires
serious research. In addition to research that would contribute to
understanding of tourism in mountains areas, there are many local
development issues to be addressed, including provision of adequate water
and power supplies, waste management, traffic control and management,
zoning and building codes appropriate to the mountain environment, and
 protection of the biophysical and cultural-historical resources which have
attracted people in the first place.

References
1.Accelerated Tourism Development and Its Impacts in Kull Manali, H.P., India.
2.Natural Hazards Risk in the Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India.
3.Balokhra Jagmohan, “The Wonderland of Himachal Pradesh” HG publication, New Delhi,
p2020.
4.Himachal Pradesh Tourism Website. http://himachaltourism.gov.in/(Accessed 12 May,
2013).
5. Community non-participation in homestays in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India.
6. Environmental Impacts of Tourism Activities: A Case Study
of Manali Town, district Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
7. Mountain hazard susceptibility and livelihood security in the upper
catchment area of the river Beas, Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India